Stigma and Schizophrenia - A Predetermination of Failure

Posted on December 1, 2014

As a matter of course, stigma tends to exacerbate the condition of schizophrenia because it leads to interpersonal alienation and a withdrawal into the mental realm. This culminates in greater involvement in psychotic ideation and perhaps greater interaction with one’s hallucinations, as this is understood by the schizophrenic. Stigmatization is damaging to the schizophrenic. It leads to engulfment in mental illness, given that stigma, in a cyclic way, culminates in deeper psychopathology, and deeper psychopathology leads to increased stigmatization by others.

There was a person of my acquaintance, diagnosed with schizophrenia and early in the process of her mental illness, but newly aware of stigmatization. She asked her clinician how she would be able to combat stigma. The clinician replied: "Get a job." This was good advice.